In the production of sausage-shaped products, like sausages, a filling material is fed by a filling machine through a filling tube of the clipping machine into a tubular casing material. After a predetermined volume of filling material has been filled into said tubular casing material, the clipping machine closes the back end of the sausage-shaped product via a closing means, like closure clips, which are attached by respective closing tools. A suspension element, like a suspension loop, may also be attached to said back end of said sausage-shaped product, enabling the sausage-shaped product to be hung up e.g. on a smoking rod or the like. Afterwards, the sausage-shaped product just produced, is separated from the remaining casing material by a knife or the like of a cutting device of the clipping machine and is transferred out of the clipping machine to a handling device for the next treatment step or a storage device by a respective discharge device.
For storing the sausage-shaped product on a smoking rod provided in a loading position, the suspension loop is grabbed by a transfer device which removes the sausage-shaped product from the discharge device, and which may include a conveyor chain having suspension hooks. The sausage-shaped product, while hanging on the suspension hook, is than guided with its suspension loop over the smoking rod and placed on a desired storage place on the smoking rod. The filled smoking rod is moved out of the loading position and an empty smoking rod is placed to be filled next.
From EP patent application 2 008 522, a hanging line is known, in which sausages are carried out of a clipping machine and their loops are guided directly onto a smoking rod. In this known device, the sausage bodies are transferred out of the clipping machine by a discharge conveyor, transferred onto a second conveyor and moved along the smoking rod while laying on said second conveyor.
A further known hanging line for storing sausages is disclosed EP patent application 1 891 859. The sausages which are produced in a known clipping machine include a suspension loop that is guided along a rod-shaped element or sword. A chain conveyor is partially arranged above the sword and engages the loops by means of hooks arranged at the conveyor chain such that the respective sausage hangs on said hook by its loop. The loop caught by a hook is spread and guided over the smoking rod. A release mechanism causes the hook to releases the loop at a desired place on the smoking rod. After a predefined number of sausages are placed on the smoking rod, the filled smoking rod is replaced by an empty smoking rod.
These known sausage production and handling devices include a number of sub-devices for transferring the sausages from the clipping machine to their storage places on the smoking rod. Moreover, these devices are of complex construction and necessitate a complex control, e.g. for controlling the synchronized movement of the different conveyor devices or the defined placement of the sausages on the smoking rod.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks and to provide a system for producing sausage-shaped products which is of a simple design and which is operable with a reduced control amount.